RECURSION

Defining a program in such a way that it may call
itself, so that use of the program may occur again and again
during its execution. (Arbib)

recursion of: pertaining to, or designating: a) a
mathematical expression, such as a polynomial, each term of which
is determined by application of a formula to preceding terms. b)
a formula that generates the successive terms of such an
expression. From the Latin "a return."

(or Recursiveness). The attribute of a program or rule which can be applied on its results indefinitely often. E.g., in linguistics the rule which introduces an adjective before a noun. Unlike in iteration, recursion need not converge towards a state. It rather tends to make a structure grow. (Krippendorff)